Federal Court Says Michigan Prisoners Have No Constitutional Right to Parole

In a 2-1 decision, a Federal appeals court has ruled that Lucius Crump, the Appellant in the case, did not have a constitutionally protected right to parole in Michigan.

Mr. Crump was originally convicted of “sex and drug crimes” and was denied parole in 2008 even though he had been classified as having a “high probability of release”. The denial came after the parole board conducted an interview with Mr. Crump.

The appeals court said that a probability of parole doesn’t rise to the level of a certainty and therefore parole is not an entitlement and doesn’t trigger constitutional protections in Michigan.

Despite their ruling in favor of the state, the court did say that the argument put forth by Lucius Crump was “substantial” leaving open the possibility that a slightly different approach or more egregious facts may make another argument successful.